


War of Hearts

by binksybane



Series: 'Cause God makes no mistakes [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood-centric, Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Fluff, Good Parent Maryse Lightwood, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, High Warlock of Brooklyn Magnus Bane, M/M, Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood Friendship, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane Is A Freewheeling Bisexual, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Malec, Malec Monday, Malec wedding, Marriage, Married Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Maryse Lightwood Redemption, Romantic Fluff, Same-Sex Marriage, Shadowhunter Alec Lightwood, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, Vampire Simon Lewis, Warlock Magnus Bane, Warlock Marks (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Wedding Fluff, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 14:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12842709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binksybane/pseuds/binksybane
Summary: But this time was different. He wasn't marrying for duty; he was marrying for love. He was going to pledge himself, forever (okay, for his ever), to Magnus in front of his family and all their friends. He'd fought so hard to get to where he was - with himself, with his parents, the Council and the Clave - and the day was finally here.----Malec wedding, my take.Short and simple.





	War of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Title and lyrics taken from "War of Hearts" by Ruelle
> 
> \---
> 
> Twitter: @binksybane

The air was filled with the subtle scent of lemons and candlewax.  
  
Gold tapestry runners featuring Batik motifs graced the tables by the entranceway to the Great Hall, and crystal vases filled with white roses spilling out sat atop them, while bouquets of white roses wrapped in blue silk ribbons decorated the ends of the old wooden pews. The early morning sun shone through the stained glass windows of the Institute and reflected pretty images onto the floor of the hall. Dozens of candles in every size were placed on the altar, ready to be lit when the ceremony started; they would lend a soft and warm glow to the happy couple as they stood before friends and family professing their love for one another.  
  
Isabelle studied the decorations with a critical eye - everything had to be perfect. She had pale yellow roses braided into her long dark hair and her dress, a long column of silver - not quite white and not quite grey; it shimmered under the lights with every moment. Satisfied that everything was as it should be she went off in search of her brothers. Despite being second-youngest, she had to make sure her _older_ brothers were ready; ensure that Jace was dressed and had the rings so he could go check up on Alec while she went to see how Magnus was doing.  
  
Izzy knocked and poked her head in Jace's room. Clary, dressed the same as her in a silver dress and yellow roses peeking out of her fiery red hair, was helping Jace with his bow. "All ready in here? You've got the rings right, Jace?"  
  
"Yup, good to go." He patted his jacket pocket where the rings were.  
  
"Okay good. I'm going to go see if Magnus needs anything. Clary, ready?"  
  
They headed to the room they'd given Magnus so he could get ready for the ceremony. She knew there were a few of her fellow Shadowhunters who weren't altogether impressed that Magnus was so at home in the Institute, what with him visiting Alec when he was at work or whatever... Not that she cared, and more importantly, not that Alec cared. He'd made his stand with the Clave and the Council clear - he either married Magnus as a Shadowhunter, or as a mundane; but either way it was happening.  
  
Clary knocked on the door and called out for Magnus. It was Simon, the Daylighter - best friend to Clary and boyfriend to Izzy - who answered the door and let them in. Simon, who had never had a filter as a mundane and even less of one as a Vampire, said to no-one in particular: "Aren't bridesmaid dresses supposed to be ugly?"  
  
"Heavens no." This came from Magnus who stood studying the girls and their dresses. "No-one in my wedding party is going to look anything but gorgeous." He approved of how the colour complimented both Izzy and Clary - he knew he'd made the right choice there.  
  
"Oh God, my _wedding party_."  
  
"I'm getting married. I'm getting _married_ , to Alexander."  
  
Clary laughed and went to his side. "Yes you are."  
  
"I'm not ready."  
  
Izzy came over to his other side. "Yes, you are. You are going to go out there, stun my brother stupid because you look absolutely magical, and you are going to marry the love of your life."  
  
He looked in the mirror at himself and the two women by his side - one like a daughter to him and the other the sister he never had; never knew he wanted or needed.  
  
And he thanked the heavens for them. Never in all his years had a group of people come to mean so much to him as these lot; he had close friends in Ragnor and Catarina but they weren't family. And for the longest time Magnus had thought he didn't deserve the gift of family, but his Angel and his fellow Shadowhunters - Jace, Izzy, and Clary - they were his family in every sense of the word.  
  
"You are absolutely right Isabelle. You two look amazing!" He hugged them in turns. "I will see you out there; I think I need more glitter. One can never have too much glitter."  
  
Magnus heard their laughter trail down the corridor as he turned to study himself in the mirror again. His tuxedo was gold; a muted and warm sort of gold colour. And in his hair was a streak of blue that exactly matched the colour of Alec's tux; the same shade of cobalt blue was reflected in the colour of his silk pocket square and pinned to his lapel was a white rose boutonnière.  
  
One last thing, he thought, and that was his Warlock mark. Should he glamour his eyes for the benefit of everyone present or let his cat eyes be free? Alec always said how he loved Magnus' real eyes and it got so he never glamoured himself when they were home.  
  
Screw it. The cat eyes were coming out.  
  
_Now_ he was ready.  
  
×  
  
Alec shooed Jace out of his room. He just wanted some quiet alone time before he went out there. He'd been here before and done the whole pre-ceremony jitters. But this time was different. He wasn't marrying for duty; he was marrying for love. He was going to pledge himself, forever (okay, for his ever), to Magnus in front of his family and all their friends. He'd fought so hard to get to where he was - with himself, with his parents, the Council and the Clave - and the day was finally here. Was he nervous? He didn't think so. He was... revved, excited, and the anticipation was killing him. But there were no nerves this time; everything felt right.  
  
He wanted to curse at the knock on his door. Instead he called out, "Come in."  
  
Alec met his mother's eyes in the mirror as she entered the room. He wasn't sure that his parents would come for the ceremony and his face must have conveyed as much, because Maryse said to him: "We wouldn't miss it Alec."  
  
She gently turned him to face her and began fussing with his bow, his hair. The first time her baby boy had (almost) got married he had been in typical Shadowhunter gold. Now he wore cobalt blue, and she had to admit, the colour suited him to the bone. It was Magnus who wore gold today - a little screw you to the Clave perhaps? She smiled. Maryse would expect no less from Magnus, and despite their initial differences, she'd come a long way in getting to know him (and vice versa) and she liked to think they were friends... and after today, family.  
  
She was forever in Magnus’ debt; not just because of the inarguable fact that he made Alec happy and nobody could deny that Alec is a better son, brother, Parabatai, friend and Shadowhunter because of it, of Magnus. She owed Magnus so much more - because of him she had been forced to re-evaluate the kind of mother she had been… which hadn't been a very good one. Between her own strict upbringing, then her mistakes with Valentine and the Circle, she'd been so focused on being an excellent soldier and making sure her children were as well, that she'd forgotten to just be a mother. So yes, Maryse owed plenty to Magnus. She had been fast going down a one way street to losing her children - never again.

 

“There, perfect.” She ran her hands down his lapels, adjusted the rose - a twin of Magnus’ - pinned there. “You look happy Alec and happy looks good on you.” She kissed his cheek.

 

“Mom. Thank you. For everything.”

 

Maryse smiled and held a hand out for him. “Let's go get you and Magnus married.”

 

×

 

Alec walked with his mother into the hall, stopped where his father was sat, and exchanged an embrace with Robert. So much had changed since he'd last been here - him and his parents were in a better place. Leaving his parents, he walked up to the altar, and studied the room and its occupants.

 

Fellow Shadowhunters that he'd lived with, trained with and gone into battle with were taking their seats. Downworlders had been invited to the ceremony as well, naturally, and he spied those he considered friends - Luke, alpha of the New York pack with his second-in-command Maia, and several Warlocks - Catarina and Dot among them. The vampires couldn't attend unfortunately, what with it being morning, which Alec knew had Magnus a little down because of how much Raphael meant to his boyfriend. And it was exactly why he'd snuck Raphael into the Institute the night before. True, the ceremony was in the Great Hall in the morning, but he's managed with Izzy’s help to make it a little darker (and safer) for the vampire to stand with Magnus.

 

As if on cue, Raphael stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the altar. Alec wasn't one to blow his own trumpet but he looked at the room full of both Nephilim and Downworlders, not just tolerating each other, but genuinely getting along… and he himself, as Head of the Institute, about to do the unprecedented and marry a Warlock. He was happy and proud that they'd managed to come this far; despite, or in spite, of Valentine and his many plans to eradicate those with demon blood. They'd overcome years of warring with each other, then years of barely tolerating each other, to now being friends and family. It was a new dawn; a new race of Shadowhunters, and he hoped that Institutes all around the world would follow their lead.

 

Jace stepped up next to Alec. “Good to go, buddy?”

 

Alec nodded. “I'm ready.”

 

The music started; it was a song picked by Magnus. Alec listened to the words as he watched his sister walk down the petal-strewn aisle.

 

****_Come to me_  
In the night hours  
I will wait for you 

 

Izzy had eyes only for the Daylighter, and from what Alec could see, the same could be said for Simon. He remembered when he'd first met Simon as a mundane, and even them how smitten he'd been with Izzy, though it would be a lie if he said his sister didn't have that effect on most of the male species. They fit he thought, and though he'd deny saying so until his dying day, he liked seeing them together - Simon was good for his sister, and if it was what she wanted one day, he would love to see her in his shoes… another Lightwood to wed a Downworlder. They'll start a trend; the badass Shadowhunter siblings who gave the Clave the finger.

 

****_And I can’t sleep_  
'Cause thoughts devour  
Thoughts of you consume 

 

As Izzy took her place next to Raphael it was Clary’s turn to make an appearance. Alec recalled how harsh and nasty he'd been to her, but somehow she managed to get under his defences, and she became almost like family to him. Almost. Whatever her faults, she made Jace strive to be a better person, and he'd be lying if he said he would miss seeing Jace’s ‘book club’ members coming and going. And of course him and Clary shared that special bond thanks to Valentine and his experiments. It was nice to feel his brother being so happy after everything he'd been through.

 

Then the music changed.

 

**_I can't help but love you  
Even though I try not to_ **

 

And then everything was just Magnus; all Alec saw, all he felt, all the wanted was right there walking towards him. He couldn't breathe and he was taken right back to that moment; when he chose Magnus, when he chose himself. But this time was their time. Their love, their wedding, their happily ever after.

  
**_I can't help but want you  
I know that I'd die without you_**

 

Magnus locked eyes with Alec as he walked down the aisle. In over four centuries he never thought he'd be doing this - getting married was one thing, but he was marrying a mortal, a Shadowhunter. Him, who never believed in the institution of marriage, who shut his heart away for over a hundred years, and he was now about to pledge himself to someone till death did them part.

 

Alec held out a hand to Magnus as he reached the altar. He had never felt more… right, more steady, and more sure of anything than he did in that moment.

 

Magnus took his place opposite Alec. How far his Angel has come; from ‘You want me to give up my life for you’ to where they were now, on the verge of getting married.

 

Brother Jeremiah stepped forward and the Great Hall fell silent.

 

"We have come together today to bear witness and to celebrate the union of Alexander Lightwood and Magnus Bane."  
  
Brother Jeremiah regarded them both.  
  
"A new beginning for the two of you. And a new beginning for both our kind; a melding of our worlds."  
  
Being as old as he was, he'd seen Shadowhunters try (and fail) to vanquish demon kind. He watched as they strived to then control and dictate that which they could not destroy, and when that too failed, he saw them attempt a kind of peaceful co-existence with one another. In recent years he saw the Nephilim and the Downworlders come together to fight a common enemy. He watched as they grew to not just tolerate, but enjoy and seek out each other's company, and now here he was about to join a Shadowhunter and Warlock in marriage.

 

At his signal Jace and Raphael stepped forward. Magnus had a moment to be surprised at the Vampire’s presence and the look he gave Alec was full of gratitude and love.

 

“We shall now do the exchanging of the rings. Alexander Lightwood, if you please.”

 

Alec took the ring Jace held out to him, placing it on the Warlock’s finger, and looked into those amber eyes he adored.

 

“Magnus, I choose you – to love and to cherish for all my life. I promise to stand by you, and stand with you, and to always support you. I promise to be always by your side; in sickness and health, in good times and bad – I promise to be true to you, and to show you every day that I love you, now and for all the rest of my days.”

 

Alec slid the ring on Magnus’ finger.

 

“Magnus Bane, if you please.”

 

Teary-eyed, Magnus took Alec’s ring from Raphael, slipped it on Alec’s finger.

 

“Alexander, my angel. I swear to always love you, honour you and to be devoted to you. I swear to always treasure you, in times of hardship and strife; in sickness and health, in good times and bad. I swear to be your partner in all things – to help guide and encourage you when you are lost and to be your light through the dark. I swear myself to you, for now, and for always.”

 

Brother Jeremiah stepped forward to address them both once more. “These rings you now wear, marked with the Wedded Union rune, shall symbolise your love and commitment to each other – and so I pronounce that Alexander Lightwood and Magnus Bane are now united as one.”

 

The Great Hall burst out in cheers and applause as Magnus and Alec embraced and had their first kiss as a married couple. With the official ceremony and solemnness behind them, the time to celebrate was now, and Magnus saw no better way than to shower everybody in glitter and confetti that rained from above in every shade and hue of the rainbow.


End file.
